Joy vs. Pleasure

Everything here is taken from the book "to have or to be?" by Erich Fromm.

Keep in mind that the entire book is teaching of two different modes of existance. The first being a life lived on the basis of being, increasing who you are, growing, changing, continually being alive and living. The second mode of existance involves a life of having, you are what you have, your job, your house, your clothing; basically the American lifestyle. There need not be any increase in who you are as long as you're always obtaining, acquiring, having more, achieving more. In this mode of living, increase in things equals increase in your being (despite how stagnate you might be).

Pleasure seems best defined as the satisfaction of a desire that does not require activity (in the sense of aliveness) to be satisfied. In order to obtain the most thrilling of pleasures individuals often must be very active in the sense of busyness, but not in the sense of "birth within." When they have achived their goal they may be "thrilled," "intensely satisfied," or feel they have reaced a "peak." But what peak? Such passions do not lead to greater human growth and strenghth but to human crippling. These pleasures produce different degrees of excitement but they are not conducive to joy. In fact, the lack of joy makes it necessary to seek ever new, ever more exciting pleasures.

Joy is the concomitant of productive activity. It is not a "peak experiance," which culminates and ends suddenly. Joy is not the ecstatic fire of the moment. Joy is the glow that accompanies being.

Aliveness (actually living and being alive) is conducive to joy. Pleasure and thrill are conducive to sadness after the so-called peak has been reached; for the thrill has been experianced, but the vessel has not grown. One's inner powers have not increased. One has made the attempt to break through the boredom of unproductive activity and for a moment has unified all one's energies- except reason and love. One had attempted to become superhuman, without being human. One seems to have succeeded to the moment of triumph, but the triumph is followed by deep sadness: because nothing has changed within oneself.

Joy is experianced only in being optimally free, rational, active. We must become what we can be. Joy, then, is what we experiance in the process of growing nearer to the goal of becoming ourself. (this process of becoming oneself is only possible if one is living in the being mode of existance)

Basically I am encouraging you, and myself, to look within, to be who you are. No one else can be you. No one else can increase you. You are the only you there will ever be and that excites me, that brings a spark to my being and I'm giddy about increasing ME.

I vastly appreciate that line, "Joy is the glow that accompanies being." I've struggled with joy for far too long.